Many international students find filling out tedious admission forms a waste of time especially when the process becomes repetitive as a student applies to multiple universities. Now, imagine a new and less complex way to admit international students to Australian universities – one window admission.
Under this method, ‘students don’t apply to individual universities – instead, they just create a single portfolio, showcasing their grades, interests and other relevant information. After this, the universities and colleges would look at the student portfolios and make offers of admission and scholarships.
The share of Indians among foreign students in Australia has grown from 17 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2022. The availability of employment opportunities and permanent residency for international students has contributed to this growing interest.
A company called Concourse has been using this system to admit international students to American and international universities for the last two years.
The idea, as per the company’s website, is called “flipping the script on traditional admissions.”
Joe Morrison, the CEO of Concourse, told Inside HigherEd that while working in the higher education recruitment industry he was struck by how much time is wasted in the admissions process.
He noticed that for international students in addition to filling out multiple admission forms for individual universities or colleges, students must submit SAT or ACT scores and the Test of English (IELTS or PTE).
Adam B. T. Wu, who is the Director of the undergraduate admission at the University of La Verne in California, says they have used the system to recruit only international students. He added that the new system “has helped us to expand the international reach of our admit pool.”
The university admitted 223 international students from 45 countries most notably from Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong.
It is reported that Concourse has access to a wide range of international high schools that most universities are unable to reach with their present student recruitment system.
The company charges international students US$75 when the university or college offers admission.
Morrison observed that the fees are to make sure that the international students “understand that it’s not just a marketing gimmick.”
The university or college that wishes to access Concourse’s pool of international students is charged $200 per student that they finally opt to admit.
At this stage, international universities such as the University of Waterloo, in Canada; the University of York, in Britain; the University of Auckland, in New Zealand; and the University of Adelaide, in Australia are participating in this news system.
Morrison says the Concourse admissions program is definitely new but he is hopeful to expand it by four or five times in 2023.
Do you think that more Australian universities will adopt this system for international student admissions?
